Caprock Canyon's new tram recalls the past

Caprock Canyon State Park is offering a modern way to see a natural wonder, but with a nod to the past.

The electric-powered Doodlebug shuttle is taking visitors down the Caprock Canyons Trailway to the Clarity Tunnel where a half-million Mexican free-tailed bats take flight in the evenings.

The tram offers views of the rugged breaks of the Caprock’s edge on the way to see the bats.

The state’s plan is to add more tours.

“Eventually, we hope to have tours along some of the park trails as well,” said Park Superintendent Donald Beard.

There have been vehicle tours before, but the Doodlebug can run quietly on electricity for 60 miles.

“It is something that I have been working towards for several years now. Before acquiring the tram, we would give tours along the Trailway in an old van,” Beard said. “This will give us the opportunity to take people down the Trailway and other places within the park in an open air, 14 passenger electric vehicle, thereby allowing people to experience the sights, sounds and smells comfortably while still being green.”

The Trailway is on the rail bed of the Fort Worth and Denver South Plains Railway, a part of the Burlington Northern Railroad, completed in 1928. In its early days, an engine pulling a single passenger car was called the Burlington Doodlebug. Passengers could flag it down for a ride, according to a news release.

The tracks are gone from the railway, but something called a doodlebug is back.

It’s unclear exactly how this type of short train, most frequently just a self-propelled passenger car, got the name doodlebug like the insect sometimes also called a pill bug or roly poly.

“It has often been asked where the term doodlebug is derived. As aforementioned, unfortunately, no one knows although it is theorized perhaps the way the car meandered or ‘doodled’ through small towns and across the countryside,” according to American-Rails.com.

The bat tours are usually on Fridays during the summer and cost $10 per person.

For more information and to make reservations, call Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway at 806-455-1492.